Plant-setting machine



(No Model.)

N. M. CHEW. PLANT SETTING MACHINE.

No. 406,336. Patented July 2, 1889.

l ln 'wllll I lll l' 'WJILVESSES UNITED, STATES PATENT OFFICE.

NOAH M, CHEWV, OF SOUTHPORT, INDIANA.

PLANT-S ETTI NG MACH I N E.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 406,336, dated July 2, 1889.

Application filed February 18, 1889. Serial No. 300,376- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, NOAH M. CHEW, of Southport, county-of Marion, and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Plant-Setting Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which like letters refer to like parts.

My invention relates to the construction of machines intended to be used in setting out tomato and other plaiits, and will be understood from the following description.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a top view. Fig. 2 is a section on the dotted line, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an inverted perspective view of the marker attached to the side of the planter. Fig. 4 is a detail View of the covering-wheels and their brackets. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the furrow-marker.

The frame-Work of the machine consists of a rear platform P, supportinga seat 8 for the driver and two lower seats or cushions c for the men who handle the plants, this platform running upon two pairs of covering-wheels to, each wheel set at an angle to the other upon stub-axles connected with brackets bolted to the under side of the platform, these being of the ordinary construction. The front half of the framework consists of bars I) b, parallel with the rear platform, and bolted to the under side of these are plows or furrow-markersf, of peculiar construction, these bars being connected by diagonal braces 1 1, as shown.

t is the tongue, extending backward across the bars '1) b and bolted thereto, its rear end pivoted to a link Z, to the opposite end of which is pivoted an angle-lever l.

2 2 are iron braces connected on either side of the tongue by a pivot-bolt p, beneath the hammer-strap. The other ends of these braces are connected inside the cross -bars oh by pivot-bolts 3 and also by bolts 4, the latter passing through slots in the braces to allow a longitudinal movement of the bolt when the plows are elevated by means of the lever, as hereinafter described.

1' are foot-rests for the workmen.

b (shown in the dotted lines in Fig. 2) is a box for holding the plants, being set in the place indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 1,

so as to be within reach of the plant-setters on either side. The cross-bars 0b are bolted to the platform P, but their forward ends are pivoted at p to the'bar I), thus forming a hinge at these points,'and upon these rear pivot-bolts p and the front pivot-bolt p the forward half of the frame is swung up when the plows f are lifted out of the ground.

at is a marking device, a detail of which is shown in Fig. 3, connected by a bail and hooks to one side of the machine in front, and is intended to mark a center line for the next two furrows, as hereinafter described.

The platform P is cut out in front of the cushions c toallow room for the hands of the workmen in setting the plants in the furrows made by the furrow-marker f between and in front of the covered wheels 10. The rear end of the plow f is made with a bell-mouth about six inches across, and this is, first, to provide room for the partly-closed hand of the workman, as in setting the plants he works in the furrow between the plow and the coveringwheels, and, second, the swell of the upper part of the plow operates to throw the earth away and keep it from falling upon and breaking or bruising the plants.

The lever Z has a ratchet device and also a toothed segment, of the usual construction, for locking the lever, and the driver, sitting in the seat 3, by means of this lever, connected as it is by a link Z to the tongue,

which is bolted to the bars I) Z), can lift the furrow-markers up out of the ground when the end of the row is reached, and a reverse movement of the lever will drop the furrowmarkers down again when the turn is made and the work is to be resumed.

The machine operates as follows: The driver sits upon the seat .9, the plant-setters upon the cushions 0, their feet resting upon the rests 0", their legs extending across the intermediate bar I). The plant-box Z) is within easy reach of the operators hands, and as the team pulls the machine forward the furrows are marked by the plows f and the workmen place the plants in the furrows thus made by the marker. pack the earth around the plants, and the operation is repeated until the row is finished. l/Vhile this is in progress the markerm marks a line parallel with the furrows made by the The covering-wheels following tecting them during the operation has been ever before known or used.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is the following:

1. A plant-setting machine comprising a workingplatform mounted upon brackets carrying a pair of covering-wheels on each side, a forward section beneath which are secured furrow marking plows on each side hinged to cross-bars connected with the rear platform and also to a link pivoted to a lever carried upon the rear platform,such platform out out on either side above the coveringwheels, with means for raising and lowering the front part of the machine from the rear part thereof, substantially as shown and described. 1

2. A plantsetting machine Whose framework is composed of two sections hinged together, the rear section, a working-platform mounted on pairs of covering-wheels and providing seats for the workmen, a ratchet-lever mechanism secured thereto and connected to the forward section, furrow-plows secured beneath the latter, a box for holding the plants thereon, and a guide-marker for centering the next series of rows connected to one side thereof, all combined substantially as shown and described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 9th day of February, 188$).

NOAH M. CHEN. Witnesses:

O. P. JACOBS, E. B. GRIFFITH. 

